Cherri said the popularity of mini cattle is growing for a variety of other reasons: low feed cost and less labor means better cost efficiency, more meat can be produced overall from each acre, and people having smaller acreages to work with.

All of the miniature cattle on Splitt Creek Ranch are registered American Herefords, she said. She and Steve breed and raise them, keeping up with demand as much as possible.

Her customers range from yuppies or senior citizens who want to have their own beef but don’t have a lot of land, or “steer jocks” from Texas with thousands of cattle, but want something smaller for their children to raise. At big cattle shows in Houston, the docile miniature cattle have been showed by 3-year-olds, Splitt said.

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